Forsale:
1985 Dodge Truck Factory Service Manual
Covers D&W 100-350 plus Ramcharger
Wiring diagrams are also in the manual
Dosen’t cover Cummins Turbo Diesel motor
Used: $20.00 (includes shipping)
Please respond via email
- Dave Draper
ddra…@netcom.com
Home: (510) 252-0713
Work: (510) 866-1100 x2587
–
David Draper
ddra…@netcom.com
(408) 993-3707
California is not a place, It’s a state of mind.
I visited the Atlanta auto show yesterday. Some impressions:
Neon — I sat in the rear seat. I’m 5’11" and I had about a half
inch of headroom to spare.
Talon — the spokesperson there said the 2.0L engines will be
Chrysler’s, not Mitsubishi’s. Can anybody confirm this?
Also said would be in showrooms next month.
Cirrus/Stratus — really good looking!
Olds Aurora — dynamite styling!
SAAB 900 — surprisingly plain interior!
Mercedes-Benz C220/280 — they really didn’t impress me all that
much.
Chevrolet Monte Carlo and new Lumina — still seem bland!
Mitshubishi — said their only new Eclipses were at the Phoenix
auto show! No plans for a V-6 Galant.
BMW — 318i convertible is out! I hadn’t heard they were
reintroducing this.
Pontiac — 25th Anniversary Trans Am has a nice interior! But why
didn’t they paint 2 blue stripes like the original TA?
Buick — new Riviera has styling that looks wierd to me!
Grille/lights/fenders give the front a fish-like look!
In article <2li20v$…@paperboy.gsfc.nasa.gov>, d…@gemini.gsfc.nasa.gov (Doug S. Caprette) writes…
>I heard that 1991 Chevy Astros, maybe other years as well, have been recalled
>for an upgrade to the front seats to prevent break-away in rear end collisions.
>As an owner of an assho, er Astro van myslef, I’m a little curious about
>this. Any one got any recall notices?
While it’s not exactly the same, 1984 Cavalier’s had a similar recall.
The dealer replaced two bolts. What a joke.
Steve
I see lotsa Ford experts and experience here, so I must ask for help with
the following:
My ’88 Colony Park Grand Marquis wagon has lost its ‘Load Leveling’
suspension function. Any ideas on how to track it down myself?
Also, the floor heater duct does not come on when I ask for HEAT only,
no matter where I have the fan switch. It does get heat when I have it
in the DEF and Heat mode. Yes I have the LS model, so this is supposed to
be the climate control model.
It has 124,000 + miles on it. Should I consider any major maintainance
work ? I’ve replaced the heater core 4 months ago, had some front end
work, but nothing major. Should I change the auto tranny fluid?
Well, thats about it, please respond with email if possible as I some-
times go long periods without access to news.
Thanks, and Happy Motoring
Jack Miller
jmil…@telenet.com
(703) 689-6010
ABS, or an anti-lock brake system is a good feature to have on your car,
especially if you are not trained in emergency avoidance procedures. Most
of us are not. ABS allows you to step on the brakes as hard as you can and
still retain steering control of your car.
ABS will not make your car stop in less distance than you could stop it
without ABS, if you are competent driver of your car.
Why is all this true? An emergency occurs and you must stop your car as
quickly as possible. You must slow your car immediately and you must
retain control, perhaps steering around an obstacle or steering to miss
hitting something.
The old days, pre ABS, a typical panic reaction is to tromp on the brakes
as hard as possible, locking all four wheels, and slide to a stop. You
stop quickly, but you cannot steer a wheel that will not rotate. You steer
but the car does not respond.
Physics, especially applied to modern tires, shows that "rolling" friction,
just prior to lock up, is greater than sliding friction. Your tire will
slow you more quickly if it is turning slightly than if it is totally
locked up. (I have measured 1.25 gees deceleration, autocross tires, just
prior to lock up, and .85 gees with the front wheels locked.)
So a better reaction would be to modulate the brakes to the point just
prior to lock up. This has two advantages. You can still steer and try to
avoid the obstacle and you slow more quickly.
Enter ABS, and the reason for this note. ABS is a crutch for people who do
not know how to modulate their brakes or who panic in an emergency
situation. If you do not get to practice hard braking in slippery
conditions, or you have not tried to brake at the maximum and still steer,
or you have not had simulated accident avoidance situations, you will
probably not react correctly in an emergency situation. ABS allows you to
do the next best thing and just tromp on the brakes! It will sense wheel
lock up and unlock them for an instant to allow you to retain steering
control.
But please understand, you can do better! You can brake hard, just prior
to the point of lock up, and the brakes will work at maximum force They
will not have to slide, rotate, slide, rotate, albet at high rates, thus
reducing efficiency, even slightly.
My goal in writing this is to educate. I do not believe ABS should be
relied upon to save you in a bad situation. With a little practice you can
do better! And it may still save you if you do panic, so it is good.
I have experience with the three channel system on the 1986 Corvette, the
first year it was offered. I have experience with a two channel system
controlling the rear wheels on a Mazda minivan and with the four channel
system on the Accura NSX, the first four channel production system. In all
cases, I am able to stop faster, with practice. The Corvette’s three
channel is exceptional and extends the braking distance only slightly. The
NSX system, on the flagship car of the company, is poor, causing the car to
crab down the road as the individual wheels lock and unlock, greatly
extending the distance. The Mazda system is there to keep you from
pirouetting down the road.
I was going to suggest practicing accident avoidance, but my lawyer would
have a fit! I autocross, a low speed, controlled environment, safe. I
also have been known to go to an empty parking lot after a rain. What I do
there, I have a hard time remembering…
Michael Sands Kaleida Labs, Inc.
sa…@kaleida.com 415.966.0711
In article <2lngeh$…@emoryu1.cc.emory.edu>,
Lloyd R. Parker <lpar…@emoryu1.cc.emory.edu> wrote:
>Curb wt — Civic EX 2517 lb; Neon 2580 lb. (the Neon didn’t have
>air cond. which would add weight, but the Civic’s wt. has probably
Actually, the Neon DID have AC. It came with the $1861 package that
upped the base car’s price to $11,552.
Alex
In article <rigorCM9y7p….@netcom.com> ri…@netcom.com (sam brown) writes:
+Bonnie J. Black (bla…@clp2.clpgh.org) wrote:
+: I’ve been shopping for a used car for what seems like forever. I had
+: looked at a Honda Civic and the dealer made a point of telling me that it had a
+: brand new timing belt. Then I decided that it was a little more expensive
+: than I could afford and looked at a 1986 Toyota Tercel. The dealer told me
+: that it had a new clutch. I asked if the timing belt had been replaced (it has
+: been owned by only one person and he had records) and he assured me that this
+: is not a worry in a Toyota the way it is in a Honda.
+: Now here’s my question. I have been told that if the timing belt
+: breaks on a Honda it will cause certain engine damage. I know that some other
+: cars are susceptible to engine damage when the timing belt breaks. It this not
+: also true of a Toyota? Or is the Toyota’s timing belt more durable? Or is
+: this dealer just lying to sell me a car?
+: [When in doubt, choose C.]
+: As always, I greatly appreciate any information you can send my way.
+: —
+: Bonnie J. Black Three Rivers Free-Net Project Manager
+: Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh 4400 Forbes Avenue
+: Pittsburgh, PA 15213 (412) 622-8862
+heres the deal. some cars will *SMASH* the valves into the pistons if the
+timing belt breaks, which ruins the valves, and could damange the pistons
+ala buy a new engine. Some cars have grooves designed into the pistons or
+so to speak so if such an timing belt broke, you might at most blow a head
+gasket . Buy a engine that is the latter, unless you are a nice car owner
+and change your timing belt every 60k miles (i doubt 1/3 of the people out
+there do it). they do break. i’ve had one break on a ford escort. no damage
+at all. just had to pay $80 for a new timing belt to be put on. expect to
+pay $150 or so for most timing belts on most cars as its a real pain to put
+on correctly (tension etc)
The problem with Escort timing belts (and I’m fairly sure Honda’s, too)
is that in addition to driving the cam shaft, they also drive the water
pump. In my opinion, this is BAD. Water pumps in general have very cheap,
bushing-type bearings. After about 50-60k miles, these bearings will either
begin to leak coolant or freeze up entirely. A leak could result in pre-
mature timing belt failure. A frozen water pump will result in an instant-
aneous failure. I think you should look into how the Toyota engine is put
together and see if the water pump (or any other device aside from the cam
shaft) is driven by the timing belt.
As far as a broken timing belt resulting in pranged valves only on some
engines, I seriously doubt this. If you don’t end up with valve/piston
collisions you are either EXTREMELY lucky or unaware of the damage. I
have known of frozen water pump caused timing belt failure in Escorts
(one of which I repaired myself) and in each case the valves met the
pistons and had to be replaced. You might get away with it if the belt
failed while the engine was idling and the car was stationary…
Snuffy
–
==============================================================================
What? Me speak for my employer? veng…@pitt.edu
They don’t pay me enough for that… ven…@vms.cis.pitt.edu
Does anyone know of a school in the Somerville/New Brunswick-type area
that teaches auto mechanics as a profession? Something like APEX Technical
School (APEX teaches diesel mechanics, not "regular" mechanics). Replies
to mail would be appreciated.
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -
In article <2lq534$…@naple.med.miami.edu>, snarayan@cessna (Sriman Narayan) writes…
>I would like to thank everyone for the replies, wisdom on the "4 door
>sports sedan– Any wisdom ". I landed up with the Mazda 626 ES 5 spd
>manual transmission.
>It is a hunter green in color with rear spoiler and floor mats came up
>to $19800. I have leased it. for 3 years.
>Cars I considered:
>Integra GS-R – Decided against it, in favour of a 6 cyl 626 ES.
>Nissan Maxima SE –. Well I liked that car very much. But decided on
>economy wise… (it was $3271 more than the Mazda..)
>Taurus SHO: — Kind of Big, but a nice car.. Expensive compared to the
>Mazda 626… Price the factor…
>Camry/Accord : – Not considered in my second round for the lack of a V6.
^^^^^^^^^^^^
I know for sure that the Camry does offer a V6. I think it is standard
on both the XLE model and the new SE coupes. I’m not sure about the Accords
but like I said I do think that Toyota offers a V6 for the Camry.
Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong….
Ashish
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -
>I would like to thank everyone once again for their time and wisdom in
>helping me choose my first new car..
>Sriman Narayan
In article <CMH6vI….@acsu.buffalo.edu>, skkn…@acsu.buffalo.edu (Im not Iron
Man) writes:
|> c…@ns1.cc.lehigh.edu (CHAD ANDREW KAUFFMAN) writes:
|>
|>
|>
|> > How much do Hummers cost these days?
|>
|> > Chad
|> > c…@lehigh.edu
|>
|>
|> oh, just a measly 40K or so
want to try for $60k or so.